# UniFi Protect

13 Hacker News commenters recommended UniFi Protect and 7 criticized it, November 2025 to November 2026. It was recommended in 5 of 13 months.

**Verdict:** Records camera footage locally and works offline, and people praise its camera system and steady improvement. Critics find face detection unreliable and cite a lack of temporary access controls.

## Why people recommend it

- Runs fully local and offline (3 comments): "I connect directly to the ip address of the unvr. You can cut internet access off on the vlan and everything works fine." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47001606)) "Offline and air gapped the whole time they were there but did exactly what it was installed to do." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48589458)) "This is entirely local and private." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48587375))
- Overall satisfaction with cameras (3 comments): "protect is light years better than it had been" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48588429)) "I am extremely satisfied with UniFi" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46998597)) "Their camera system is wonderful." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48591131))

## What people warn about

- No temporary camera access for others (2 comments): "there's no way to give a babysitter temporary access to the cameras in the kids' rooms" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48590958)) "I couldn't and can't figure out how to give my wife access to their Protect app" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48587839))

## Alternatives hackers recommend

- [Frigate NVR](https://hackerapproved.com/p/frigate.md): 54 recommend
- [HomeKit Secure Video](https://hackerapproved.com/p/apple-homekit-secure-video.md): 5 recommend

## Where to get it

- [See price on Amazon](https://www.amazon.com/s?k=Ubiquiti+UniFi+Protect+NVR&tag=hackerapprove-20) (affiliate link)
- [Official site](https://www.ui.com/physical-security)

## Cite as

Hacker Approved, "UniFi Protect", https://hackerapproved.com/p/ubiquiti-unifi-protect/ (counts from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026).